


Stand and Fight

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: Holly's Round Seven H/C Bingo Card [31]
Category: Sky High (2005)
Genre: Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 21:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8548939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: Warren feels a lead weight in his stomach, but he doesn't stutter, doesn't stammer, doesn't back down. "What are you talking about?"

  "The Captain and Lady Lilac," and Speed is starting to look irritated, which is always a sign that he's about to make a mistake. "I know what you are to them."
Warren finds out just the cost of being with the people he loves, but, in trying to protect them, learns just as much about the rewards.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Got a little lazy with the superhero names, sorry?
> 
> Unbeta'ed. Written for H/C Bingo Round 7.

"I know what you are," Speed says, smirking behind a mask that does nothing to hide who he is.

Warren raises an eyebrow. "Daughter of villain and superhero? Everyone knows that. Come back when you've got something more original."

But as Warren powers up, ready to burn his opponent for his pride, the villain just smirks back at him. "I know what you are to them."

Warren feels a lead weight in his stomach, but he doesn't stutter, doesn't stammer, doesn't back down. "What are you talking about?"

"The Captain and Lady Lilac," and Speed is starting to look irritated, which is always a sign that he's about to make a mistake. "I know what you are to them."

"I'm not anything to them," and though the lie is ash on his tongue, if it saves what little is left of his lovers' dignity, he will gladly bear this cross.

Speed just snorts. "You think Gwen didn't keep tabs on you three and the rest of your little friends after you took us down? She knows, and it won't be long before the rest of the world knows too." Speed smirks. "You're out of time, Peace. Unless you do what you were always supposed to do, and come join us."

The threat is enough to set Warren's heart pounding, but if there's one thing they taught in the hero track, it's how to handle excess adrenaline. And for all that Speed's gotten better for his time in prison, Warren's spent the last five years fighting the best of the best at Will and Layla's side. It's altogether too easy to take Speed down and hand him back over to the authorities that will detain him, even with his threat ringing in Warren's ears.

The harder part is making his way back to Will and Layla's side when all he wants to do is run from the way he's potentially destroyed them and the purity of their image. For all that the matching smiles they grace him with make him want to ignore what he's just been told, he can't.

It's time to pack his bags and leave.

\----

He waits until they're in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner, and for as much as he wants to stay and watch, revel in his last night with them, he knows that the longer he stays, the harder it will be to leave.

So he makes his way up to their room and slowly, painfully, begins to pack.

For all that they've done their damnedest to make him feel at home--for all that he'd been beginning to believe that it _was_ his home--he knows that some part of him always had one foot out the door. It's why it's so much easier than he expected to separate his clothes from Will's, his trinkets from Layla's, his life from theirs. And he might have managed it, except that he'd made a simpler dinner than normal, leaving them with less dishes to do, which means they're upstairs sooner than he'd anticipated.

"Going somewhere?"

He whirls around to face a tired-looking Layla and a Will that looks like he's ready to punch Warren in the face.

"I can't stay."

"What did Speed say to you?" Will snaps, and though Layla tries to calm him with a touch, she's too slow to stop the words.

"The truth," Warren admits tiredly. "That I'm destroying you two."

Layla blinks, looking confused, but Will seems to, for once, have caught on sooner. "What, because fighting alongside you makes it obvious we're poly?"

Warren nods. "You both have legacies to live up to, people to honor. Shacking up with me is going to torch your chances at being well respected worse than anything else."

"You think we give a _damn_ about--" Layla starts, but Will interrupts her, cutting to the heart of the matter in that way that he can only ever seem to at times like this.

"You think we didn't know?"

Warren stops short, seeing Will as though for the first time. "What?"

"You think we didn't know what it would look like, bringing you on as the third member of our team? You think we didn't talk about it for ages before we asked you to team up with us? Before we asked you to _be_ with us? We knew what we were getting into. And when you said you wanted to keep it between us while we figured it out, we honored that. We took it to heart and didn't point out that we already knew what it would look like. Last thing we wanted to do was scare you off because you wanted to protect us. So you know what? Fine. Go ahead. Throw away everything we are and everything we could be. But don't you _dare_ tell yourself you're doing it on our account, because we walked into this with eyes open. We knew what we were getting into, and we were ready and willing to take it all on for you. If you walk away, at least be honest and admit you're doing it for yourself."

Then Will turns and marches from the room, slamming the reinforced door to their bedroom behind him as he storms out.

Warren stares after him, dumbfounded, before he turns to look at Layla. Her face is a little pained, but just as warm and open as it always is. "Is it true?" he asks. "Did you know?"

Layla nods. "Will was the one that realized it. He also knew he didn't care, and rightly assumed I wouldn't either. I've never been one for conforming, and you've always been important enough to him that he'd give up anything to keep you close. So yeah. We knew."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you were happy. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss, and if you weren't worrying about how the world saw you because of us, then you could just _be_ one of us, and that was all we ever wanted for you."

"You should have told me."

She nods again. "Probably. But I swear, we were just trying to keep you safe and keep you with us."

Warren closes his eyes. "I get that. And I don't want to leave any more than you want me to. But we need to make a decision. If this is real, we need to make it real."

Layla gets to her feet, taking one of Warren's hands in her own. "Whatever you're up for, Warren. I'm in."

"And Will?"

Layla just chuckles. "He's more ready than you're giving him credit for. He'll say the same."

"All in?"

"All in."

When they make it downstairs to wait for Will, they find that though he made it out the front door, he never made it past the front step, his head in his hands while he breathes heavily through his tears. It's altogether too easy to help him to his feet and back into the house. Back into their room. Back into the life they've so carefully crafted.

One day Warren will be ready to ask to spend the rest of his life with them. One day Layla will let all three of their mothers sweep her up in wedding planning even when all she cares about is making sure they keep their carbon footprint as small as possible. One day Will will smile and slide the rings he'd bought years before over Warren and Layla's fingers. But there are smaller steps to take first, and, in the meantime, they'll have each other. And that's all that matters.

**Author's Note:**

> [Come hang with me on tumblr!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


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